Ukraine is ready to exchange its interceptor drones to counter Iranian "Shaheds" with partners from the Middle East for missiles for “Patriot” air defense systems, which Ukraine has a shortage of.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with Rai Italia.
He said that there have been requests from the US, Europe and Middle Eastern countries for an expert assessment of the strikes by Iranian “Shahed” drones. Zelensky says Ukraine is ready to share its experience.
At the same time, he noted that Ukraine needs interceptor missiles for “Patriots”, so an exchange is possible.
"As for weapons: we ourselves are at war. And I said absolutely frankly, we have a shortage of what they have. They have missiles for the ʼPatriotsʼ, but they wonʼt shoot down hundreds or thousands of ʼShahedʼ with them, itʼs expensive. Itʼs no harm to people, of course, but they simply donʼt have that many missiles. Thatʼs why they need interceptor drones, which we have. And we have a shortage of RAS-2, RAS-3 missiles. Therefore, if we talk about the exchange of technologies, the exchange of weapons, I think our country will be open to this," Zelensky stressed.
The Financial Times, citing a source in the Ukrainian defense sector, wrote that the United States and at least one Gulf country are negotiating the purchase of Ukrainian interceptor drones to counter Iran.
After the US and Israeli operation against Iran began, the Gulf states began using expensive “Patriot” missiles to intercept Iranian “Shahed” kamikaze drones. However, their stocks are quickly running out. Now they are turning to Kyivʼs experience.
The Ukrainian official called the talks with the Pentagon a “sensitive” topic. But it is clear that interest in Ukrainian drone interceptors has increased sharply, as they can shoot down the “Shahed” at a very low price, he noted.
A representative of the Ukrainian defense industry emphasized that any sales of Ukrainian systems — even if they are produced abroad — should only take place with the approval of Kyiv.
What preceded
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. The Israelis called the operation “Lion’s Roar”, the United States called it “Epic Fury”. In the evening, it became known about the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost 40 other senior Iranian officials.
Iran responded by attacking US bases in the Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. Iran also attacked Israel with ballistic missiles. Some Iranian drones and missiles targeted infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.
After an Iranian drone attacked the British Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country would enlist Ukrainian experts to help its partners shoot down Iranian drones.
On March 2, Bloomberg reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to send his best experts to shoot down Iranian drones to the Middle East if the leaders of these countries convinced Putin to agree to a month-long ceasefire in Ukraine.
At the time, he also said that there had been no signals from the US or Europe that the war in the Middle East could affect the PURL initiative to purchase American weapons for Ukraine, including the scarce PAC-3 missiles for “Patriot”.
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